Udaipur - Mount Abu Road Trip

December 2016
Best Time to Visit: Winter

Euphoria creeps in on the arrival of September. We always wanted to plan a road trip to Rajasthan by our car and eventually, we shortlisted the places-to-see and asked a couple of folks including Swapnil for a company. Of lately, he had been on frequent road trips and I thought he would be a good companion.One fine day, I asked him if he would be interested in joining us for the trip and he reverted affirmatively within a couple of minutes :)

I explained him the silhouette of our road trip and plan seemed to materialize from that very moment. We started with the hotel bookings and as early birds, we grabbed some good deals.We were very delighted for the value for money stuff :). We also went on discussing about the road conditions, the routes to be taken, the places to visit etc. The one thing that was bothering us was, about the halt on the first day; whether we should stop at Ankleshwar or Baroda en-route Udaipur. Sagar and myself were for Baroda while Swapnil and Suvarna were more inclined towards Ankleshwar as it was almost halfway to Udaipur. Finally, after some brainstorming, we both families decided to zero-in on Baroda as we wanted to drive as much as we could on that day.

Before we move ahead, let me first introduce my companions :)

Group pic

From left:

Family 1: Swapnil and Suvarna

Family 2: Myself, Sagar and my kid Rishaan (2.9 yrs)

We had taken 2 cars. Our's was a Honda City and Swapnil and Suvarna were in their Maruti Swift.

Road trip route:

Some statistics about our journey.

Total expenses: Rs.40,000

Total distance covered by our car: ~2200 KM

Petrol expenses: Rs.11000

Toll  charges: Rs.1000
Hotel /Home-stay bookings: Rs.17,500

Trip route

Itinerary:

23/12: Reach Baroda.

24/12: Reach Udaipur/site seeing.

25/12: Udaipur site seeing.

26/12: Udaipur site seeing.

27/12: Reach Mount Abu/site seeing.

28/12: Mount Abu site seeing.

29/12: Reach Baroda/site seeing.

30/12: Reach Silvassa.

31/1: Reach Pune.

23/12: Reaching Baroda
Distance covered: 585 KM  
Drive: 14 hours 

Pune - Baroda/Halol

As we all know, we hardly get a peaceful sleep when the next day is going to be filled with excitement so we both families decided to leave Pune by 5 AM. The common point where we decided to meet and start together was the Orchid Hotel,Balewadi road.By 7AM, we reached Thane. It took a lot of time from Thane to Meera Bhayandar, as only one way traffic was allowed. We were stuck for almost half an hour. The road was full of trucks and big lorries.The toll plazas were also lined up with many vehicles.  As soon as we enter Gujrat, the roads become buttery smooth. Hats off to Gujrat roads and our Prime Minister Modiji.

6 lane highway

Charoti Toll Plaza

In the afternoon, we had our lunch at the 'Apple Inn' restaurant. Most of the hotels are pure-veg and so was this. Since we all were non-vegetarians, we were reluctant  about this hotel. But still went ahead with this restaurant as we had to reach destination before sunset.We reached Baroda around 6:30 PM and took the Vadodara-Halol exit from the highway.It was dark outside but we enjoyed the drive as the road was simply astounding with red markers and without a single bump and potholes. After 25 KM journey on this awesome road with deserted traffic, we finally reached first destination, Hotel Sarvottam. This hotel was a find on the highway. We were treated to a luxury experience in just a couple of grands. We relaxed and were very happy with our choice.

24/12: Reaching Udaipur/site seeing.

Distance covered: 302 KM  
Drive: 6 hours 

We started pleasant driving for Udaipur at 8 in the AM by the clock.. It was a smooth road surrounded with many petrol pumps. As soon as we reached Rajasthan Post, the roads turned rough and had many Bars surrounded :) whose billboards read "Angreezi sharaab ki dukaan" :P. But our  journey along-with a little help of the GPS was fantastic and relaxing till we reached our next haven, the 'Boheda Palace'.

 

We reached Boheda palace,Udaipur at 1:30 PM and had delicious meal. We decided to relax and tour the City Palace in the evening. Instead of driving our cars, we took an auto at 4:30 PM as the roads were very narrow. Auto wallahs usually charge Rs.50 for any drop within 2-3 KM's.Tickets for City Palace were heavy on pockets i.e. Rs.250/- and same is the price for each camera you carry. We spent 1.5 hrs in the crowded city palace :| and then did some shopping at the Hathipole market. Beware of the swindlers while you shop.I felt deceited especially at the Maharaja Saree whole sale shop :(. Evening we had dining at the Boheda palace in their open space on the third floor. Beautifully lit City Palace added to the charm and beauty.

 

25/12: Udaipur site seeing.

After having a sapid breakfast, we left for Kumbhalgarh Fort by our car. We took the route to Kumbhalgarh and as we were nearing, we were excited to see what the 'Great Wall of India' had in store for us. It was a 90 kms odyssey from our hotel and the roads were narrow with uneven surfaces.We reached Khumbhalgarh at 11 AM and trekked the majestic fort. The fort is a World Heritage site built by Rana Kumbha and is also famous as Maharana Pratap's birth place.The fort of Kumbhalgarh has perimeter walls that extend 36 KM, making it the second longest wall in the world. We were fascinated with these incredible structures that were built in the 15th century. Also, this is the same fort where the movie 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' was pictured. We had lunch at the fort which was okay and left for the hotel in the afternoon. This is one of the grandest of forts of our Incredible India and a must visit site :)

Kumbhalgarh Wall

Temples

Rear view of Kumbhalgarh

We all decided to relax at the hotel in the evening but Swapnil and Suvarna had a different plan at the back of their minds. They wanted to visit the Fateh Sagar lake and we joined in without any hesitation. Swapnil parked the car and we visited the garden near by. Surprise awaits! Swapnil and Suvarna had got a yummilicious cake :) We both were elated.This was the best surprise on our anniversary. Thank you guys for making our day special. We had a memorable cake cutting followed by a luscious dinner lakeside.

Anniversary Celebrations

26/12: Udaipur site seeing.

We planned for local site seeing in the morning and a relaxing sundown at the Fateh Niwas. We checked out from Boheda Palace at 9 AM and after a auto-rickshaw ride, we decided to take the Ropeway to the Karni Mata Temple. After reaching the top, you can see the entire view of the city of lakes which would make you fall in love with this city all over again. We had an inviting photo session followed by darshan. At 12 PM, we had wonderful boat ride experience amidst the stunning Pichola lake, Jag mandir, Lake Palace, Udaivilas and not to forget the Hotel Taj Lake Palace.

Jag Mandir

Pichola Lake View From Karni Mata Temple

City View, Udaipur

City Lake Palace, Pichola Lake

Taj Lake Palace, Pichola lake

 

After the boat ride, we went shopping around the City Palace and had the famous Dal Bati thali at Santosh restaurant.We checked in at Fateh Niwas at 4 PM and it was a steal! This boutique hotel is one of the Fateh Collection of heritage hotels and was renovated in Feb 2016. We truly enjoyed our stay here.

27/12: Reaching Mount Abu/site seeing. 
Distance covered: 302 KM  
Drive: 3 hours 

We had lavish breakfast at the Fateh Niwas and started our journey towards Mount Abu. The Highway connecting Udaipur and Mount Abu is pretty good.We started at 10 AM and reached Mount Abu at around 12:30 PM.

Tunnel on the way to Mount Abu

Aravalli range, Mount 

We checked in Hotel Silver Oak and had lunch in the hotel garden. The hotel was decent and well-equipped with heaters but the rooms were pretty compact. 

At evening, we visited the Nakki lake. We expected it to be a huge lake but much to our disappointment, it wasn't. We had also planned a visit to the sunset point, however, due to time crunch and heavy traffic we couldn't make it. As the weather was chilling we finally destined to our hotel.

The best part of hotel Silver Oak are the evening shows which are managed by the hotel management  near the garden area. They promote visually challenged people for conducting such shows. We got to see some exceptional talent out there. Our evening became more memorable when Swapnil and Sagar tried their hands-on singing and harmonica.

28/12: Mount Abu site seeing.

We started for local site seeing at 9 AM after having the breakfast. The targeted points included Gurushikhar, Anchalgarh temple, Brahmakumari and Dilwara Jain temple. Gurushikar was 19 km drive from our hotel and was the highest point of the Aravalli Range.It has a cave at the zenith and has a temple dedicated to Lord Dattatreya.We then visited the Brahmakumari and spent around an hour there.There is not much to see at the Anchalgarh temple and also it is not well-kept. After our  Anchalgarh temple visit, we were not very keen on visiting the Dilwara but as it was on our way,we went ahead with the plan.These 11th and 13th century temples are one of the most beautiful Jain pilgrimage sites in the world.The ornamental detailing spread over the minutely carved ceilings, doorways, pillars and panels is simply marvelous. We did not regret our decision of visiting the Dilwara and instead thought that it was one of the most ultimate points in Mount Abu and one should pay a visit at least once!

At eventide, we relaxed at the hotel where-as Swapnil and Suvarna went for boating in the Nakki lake.

29/12: Reaching Baroda/site seeing.
Distance covered: 345 KM  
Drive: 6 hours

As we had only one day stay at Baroda, we wanted to visit the Lakshmi Vilas Palace and EME temple.As the palace closes at 6 PM, by any means we wanted to reach Baroda by 4 PM. We left from our hotel at 9 AM and reached Baroda before 4 PM as we had planned.The Vadodara-Ahmedabad highway was incredible.. again Gujrat roads.. Hats off!!. Its a scaled straight expressway having fewer turns. We immensely enjoyed the drive for 100 KM's and had lunch by the highway. As we reached Baroda city, wide roads gestured us. We checked in the hotel Gen X which was a find and value for money. We all loved our stay here. At evening, we visited the Lakshmi Vilas Palace which was ticketed at Rs 225/- inclusive of headphones.The Palace was quite picturesque and surrounded by a golf course. Truly fabulous and grand! Another fascinating site to mention was that of the dancing peacocks. Overall, this palatial entity is worth visiting again and again.Magnificent architecture and the surroundings made the visit truly amazing!

We concluded this day by having supper at our hotel were we had waited :)

 



30/12: Reaching Silvassa.
Distance covered: 265 KM  
Drive: 5 hours 

We reached Silvassa at 4 PM, making our way through the traffic over river Narmada. This location is more of an industrial area than a Portuguese territory. Every hotel here is a bar cum restaurant .  The Le Royale hotel was modest. In the evening, we visited the 'Vanganga garden' which was adjacent to our hotel and had an electrifying fountain show. This made our day and the other surprise was a great dinning experience at the hotel. The food was mouth-watering :)

31/1: Reaching Pune.
Distance covered: 300 KM  
Drive: 6 hours 

We started our return journey after having scrumptious breakfast at the hotel at 9 AM. We visited the Swami Narayan temple which was about an half hour drive from the hotel. Temple is well maintained and very peaceful. 

Swaminarayan Temple, Silvassa

At 10 AM, we started towards Manor and as usual, had a rush hour at Mira Bhayandar. We were stuck in the traffic for almost half an hour and then it further took us another two hours getting on the expressway which was quite cumbersome. By then we were quite esurient and were looking for a restaurant nearby. Finally, we had our lunch on the Mumbai Pune Expressway which was packed by the visitors to Lonavala and Khandala who were there to celebrate New Year's Eve. Finally, we reached home at 5:30 PM. 

Ultimately, our stupendous nine days road trip was over and we thoroughly enjoyed it to the core. We had so many special and unforgettable memories throughout our sojourn. We miss our travel partners and the nostalgia creeps in. Thanks a bunch guys for all those cherishable moments!

Heart filled with gratitude to Sunny Shah, who has reviewed my blog. Thanks a ton!! It was due since long... :)

For more photo's, you can follow @sagarbidkar/@saylibidkar on instagram.